


Mission: Normalcy

by JustAndrea



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Disguise, F/F, First Crush, First Meetings, Recruit being extra af, a bit of awkwardness but it all works out, girl on a mission, supportive brothers and senseis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-15 00:08:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18062813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAndrea/pseuds/JustAndrea
Summary: It was meant to be a simple undercover mission, that was all. Something she could absolutely handle, despite her senseis' concerns. Still, being subtle and laying low was never exactly Foot Recruit's strongest skill, and while she may be able to complete a successful mission, she still can't get in and out without a certain pigtailed cashier noticing her. Then again, this may not be a bad thing...





	Mission: Normalcy

**Author's Note:**

> I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO WRITE THIS FOR SO LONG!! Unfortunately, work and ideas for my drabble series got in the way. STill, I'm happy to finally post this ^v^ As long as Foot Recruit is a teen (I'm pretty sure she is, canon hasn 't said otherwise), I will happily support the AprilxFoot Recruit pairing, and I really hope we get to see these two interact in the show ^v^ ...hopefully not while Recruit is trying to also kill the turtles, lol. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you all enjoy!

The pristine, fairly clean space around her was her battlefield.

The shops? Lookout towers, where suspicious eyes were sure to be watching her every move.

The officers that rolled by on their miniature set of wheels? They were soldiers, ones that she could easily fight physically but still couldn’t afford a battle with.

The citizens who strolled by? At worst, they were in the way. Crowding the long, tiled halls and making any rushed escape nearly impossible, just by how slow witted and slow moving they were. _BUT_ , at best, they would be her camouflage.

And her? She was a lone warrior, standing among the crowds and staring down her surroundings with determination and silent fury in her eyes, her new ‘uniform’ neat yet flowing. Unlike her typical gi, her pastel pink jacket and medium length purple sundress hid her muscles and multiple hidden shuriken well. This combined with the long, dark wig on her head made her look like just another foolish seventeen year old, there to gawk at wares and buy things she didn’t need.

The Foot Recruit took another deep breath, straightening her position even more. Despite the occasional looks from the people walking past, she did not flinch. Even the occasional flick of water from the fountain behind her couldn’t cause her to lose her edge or her focus. This was her mission… She could do this! Prove her worthiness! ‘I shall not fail again!’ she thought to herself.

And with that (as well as the mall directory that she had studied meticulously) in mind, she left her surveillance point and began to ‘stroll’ down the mall path. Each step was firm, her heel coming down like a dagger into an enemy, her fists holding still by her sides. Again, she received a couple curious looks, but none of her fellow shoppers stopped to confront her directly. Excellent, her cover look was working!

‘I knew Sensei had no reason to worry!’ she smiled, ‘Just as I told him!’ Yes, this may have only been her second solo mission ever, and sure ‘subtle’ and ‘stealth’ weren’t exactly her strongest skills, but she still had this completely under control! Brute always seemed to worry too much about her anyway, something she had used to take offense with until she’d heard him gushing about her skills to another soldier. Clearly he knew she was capable, he just had a habit of being a bit too caring when it came to his student.

...Recruit refused to say so aloud but, she didn’t exactly mind this.

But her other sensei, the Lieutenant, trusted her completely, even after her last (technical) failure. All he had said before sending her on her way was that she needed to remember: Blending in was the key. Get in, get the information we need, and get out. Frankly, it was almost too simple.

‘But nevertheless important,’ Recruit reminded herself. Another artifact was on the line, and after her senseis’ successful robbery at Gilbert’s Department Store, other high end stores in New York had tightened up their security. But that would not stop the Foot Clan, not as long as she had anything to say about it!

Recognizing a couple of the shop signs from the map, the Recruit increased her pace, scanning the area until she saw it. A small- ...Well, she wasn’t quite sure of the word for it. Spiritual seemed fairly appropriate, but also completely wrong. There was incense and small stone statues of Buddha and other gods, but also tacky dragon and wizard statues and long glass bottles that Recruit knew weren’t just for display. She sneered at the tacky shop.

Still, despite it’s more… controversial wares, there were still plenty of expensive items in the shop, ones that the moronic people running the shop thought were just highly collectible decorative pieces, and were simply placed on a shelf behind the counter, their true power and potential remaining unknown…

‘The Foot shall take over this world,’ Recruit smirked, ‘And most of these idiots won’t even see it coming…’ She made a move to step towards the shop - and froze. Once again, the words of her higher ranking sensei echoed through her head.

_Blending in was the key…_

Even the most unobservant shopkeeper would notice a person staring at their more expensive items and searching for security measures. “Ugh…” No, she couldn’t afford to draw ANY suspicion! Not until she got the information she needed for her clan and completed her mission! Even if she could escape the shop before any mall cops could be called to confront her, there was still a chance that her actions could lead to even more countermeasures being installed before the robbery took place, making her mission completely pointless! No, worst than pointless, because it would _hurt_ her senseis’ plans rather than help them!

Recruit growled. This was why she preferred battles and combat-focused missions over stealth! Why did she have to follow all these ridiculous social rules when it would be SO MUCH EASIER to just run in there and crush all the security cameras and hidden alarms with her own two hands?!

“...Mama? Why is that girl growling?”

Recruit snapped her head at the accusing voice, her glare sharpening as she bared her teeth. The toddler whimpered, and with a small glare of her own, the mother quickly picked the child up and walked away.

“...Right,” Recruit sighed. Blending in. Staying undercover. She couldn’t do this her way, she had to follow mission protocol - and show her larger sensei that he had nothing to worry about. Show that she could handle a stealth mission just as well as she could handle taking on four tallking turtles in a hand-to-hand battle.

So, it was back to observation. She scanned her surroundings, making sure to focus especially on her fellow teenagers. Most of them were looking at their phones, laughing at some ridiculous meme or listening to some sort of audio. She did have a throw-away phone on her, one that would certainly make her look more casual (more-so than talking into her mystic crystal would, at least)… But no, she had to save her battery, just in case she was captured. A few teens had shopping bags hanging off their forearms… She would certainly look like a typical customer with those.

Recruit shook her head. No, that wouldn’t do at all. She only had a small sum of money on her person, and she didn’t want to slow herself down with useless weight. Besides, wouldn’t having large, open bags on her make her look more suspicious, possibly causing the shopkeeper suspect that she could be looking for things to shoplift?

She was starting to get frustrated once again when she saw it, the last piece of her disguise that she had been missing! A bright, medium sized orange cup with a straw that she could absentmindedly sip on and look just as casual and non threatening as any other teenager in the mall! She laughed quietly to herself. “Excellent…” It really was perfect.

Luck was on her side, it would seem, since there was an Orange Julius just a couple shops away with only a small line. A small smirk still on her face, Recruit strolled towards it and got in line. She eyed the people now in her personal space, but again most of them were either on their phones or chatting with other people in line. “Hehe…” Completely blended in.

She counted off the seconds she had to wait in her head, her eyes still glancing around to make sure there were no mall cops or more suspicious toddlers coming her way. Before long, it was her turn at the counter. “Hey there,” the cashier smiled. She was a dark-skinned girl with red framed glasses, her curly hair put up in matching pigtails. A simple name tag hung from her apron, stating the word “ **April** ”. Friendly, pleasant looking… Recruit could understand why she was assigned this job.  “What can I get ya?”

Recruit opened her mouth, and nothing came out. Unbelievable… She had been focusing so much on her surroundings that she hadn’t even bothered looking at the menu! “I will, be deciding in just a moment!” she managed to get out. Her eyes darted towards the larger-than-expected menu above them, but the voice of the cashier brought them back down.

“I’d recommend the orange smoothie, myself,” the cashier offered, “Definitely a classic that most people will enjoy.”

“Then I will take one average sized orange smoothie drink,” Recruit replied (though it was more like a command). “...Please and thank you.”

The cashier nodded. “One smoothie, comin’ up.” The machine worked fast, producing a cupful of frothy orange liquid within a minute. “$3.70 please,” she told her when she returned with the cup, poking a straw into its top.

Recruit nodded back at her and took out her change purse from her jacket pocket. Quickly and efficiently, she took out a neatly folded twenty dollar bill and presented it to the girl behind the counter, who just continued to smile at her. Either she was just as observant as the rest of the citizens of New York, or she simply didn’t mind Recruit’s tone. Or, perhaps it was just her job to be polite. It was most likely the third option, Recruit told herself.

The cashier accepted the bill, and as she ducked into the register, Recruit grabbed the cup and walked away as briskly as she could, taking a couple sips along the way. ...It was admittedly a pretty good smoothie, but she would focus on that later. She had wasted enough time, she had to begin the next stage of her mission. So without another moment of hesitation, Recruit walked into the shop with her smoothie in hand, and her phone at the ready…

...In highsight, maybe she had overestimated the dedication and vigilance of the shopkeepers.

She had spent an hour wandering around the small shop, staring at cameras and possible trigger spots, taking the occasional picture, and sipping her smoothie. She had done all this, and the apathetic 20-something barely even looked at her, instead focusing on his magazine. The only interaction they had was when he had asked in a completely uninterested tone if she needed help finding anything, clearly not caring about the answer.

Recruit had still ended up buying a small package of incense, just in case the cashier was simply playing dumb in order to trick her into making a mistake. At least now she could claim she was in fact a paying customer if anyone confronted her about her time spent there.

Not wanting the information to be lost if someone were to ambush her on her way back to the base, Recruit took a moment to text all her information and photos to her senseis. She received a reply from her lieutenant within a few seconds.

 _“Excellent work, recruit! It looks like your mission was a total success, and for this, you shall be accompanying us tomorrow night when we steal the artifact!”_ But before she could put her phone away, she received a second text. _“Brute says good work too.”_

Recruit smiled. _“Hai. Thank you, senseis,”_ she typed, finally relaxing. Her mission was officially a success, and her senseis were pleased. Now, all she had to do was make her way out of the mall, and-

“Hey! Uh, excuse me!” a voice called in the distance.

Recruit spun around. She had expected a mall cop, or even another shopkeeper. But instead, she saw the cashier from the Orange Julius, waving at her from behind the counter before racing out of the smoothie shop and towards her.

She could feel the handle of her shuriken sliding down into her palm, but she fought the urge to grip it. A fight would cause unwanted attention and suspicions… She couldn’t drop the ‘normal teenage girl’ act yet, not now! Still, Recruit raised the rest of her defenses, curious as to what this girl wanted with her, seeing as she had already successfully made her payment. Interrogation, perhaps?

“Hey!” the girl said, only a bit breathless as she slowed her pace, “Glad I caught ya! And my shift was just ending too! Heh, talk about good timing, huh?”

“What is it you want?” Recruit demanded, her tone coming out just a tad harsher than she had intended, judging by the girl’s reaction.

“You uh… Your change.” Reaching into her pocket, the girl pulled out several bills and coins. “You forgot your change earlier. I was getting it for ya and, well, you just kind of left.”

“Oh.” Right, of course. “Thank you,” Recruit nodded, accepting the change.

“Yeah, no problem,” the girl smiled, “Heh, with how expensive things are, every little bit counts, right? I’m just glad I was able to give it back to you before headin’ home.” She glanced away for a moment, holding onto her arm. “So, yeah… Glad I could help.”

“Yes…” Still staring and watching her, Recruit tilted her head a bit. So… she wasn’t going to confront her, she was just being nice? A bit unexpected, but not necessarily unwanted. “Thank you,” Recruit nodded, finally breaking the slightly awkward silence, “Your honorable actions are appreciated.” She then gripped the empty cup slightly. “And, your smoothie was very delicious.”

“Heh, oh, really? Well, it’s not my recipe but, thanks!” she smiled, “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Oh, my name’s April, by the way.”

“Yes. I can see that, according to your name tag.”

April cringed slightly, resisting the urge to facepalm. “Oh, right, duh. So uh, what’s your name?”

Recruit - Yuu - froze, though only for a moment. “Rinko,” she lied, using the first name that popped into her head. Even if her secret identity wasn’t exactly one of high status or fame, she still felt the need to protect it for both her and her clan’s sake. Only her senseis used her real name, and she wanted to keep it that way.

“Rinko,” April repeated, “That’s a nice name."

“Thank you, April is a satisfactory name as well.” April just gave a small giggle at that, falling back into casual friendliness. It was, once again, unexpected. This April didn’t really stare at her like other citizens did. If she thought Recruit was in any way out of the ordinary, she didn’t wear it on her face. Or, maybe she did think so, but didn’t mind it. “I… need to be going now,” Recruit said suddenly, “My sen- _fathers_ are at home waiting for my return.”

“Ah, right. Yeah, I’m gonna be heading home soon too, once I grab my stuff,” April nodded, though her smile dimmed a bit, “But, hey, have a good night. I'll see you around!”

Recruit paused, her body in mid-step. She met April’s eyes, and with a slightly softer tone, she replied with “I will, and I wish you the same,” choosing to ignore the second part of the girl’s goodbye. Not sparing another word or glance her direction, Recruit walked away. Still, her hands were relaxed as she walked, staying flat rather than folding up into fists once more. That… wasn’t too aggravating of an interruption, she admitted to herself.

Still, as well as her disguise had worked, she was not an ordinary teen girl. She still had her duties to complete, training to finish before the day was up and another mission to prepare for. She just didn’t have time for unimportant activities like ‘hanging out’.

...Though, that didn’t necessarily stop her from thinking about it.

\----------------

Recruits didn’t receive many days off, though with how skilled she was, Yuu could afford a couple extra ones - especially since she normally found herself training or sparring with some hopeless grunt anyway despite not being required to.

And yet, here she was, once again walking amongst the fools of the city. This time, she was wearing a garnet long-sleeved shirt and black pants. Still not quite as nice as her gi, but a bit more comfortable than a dress while still being inconspicuous, at least (even if the wig on her head still made her scalp itch).

Part of her couldn’t help but be annoyed with herself, wondering why on Earth she’d drag herself back to a place like this willingly. Even if it was the setting of her clan’s latest victory, despite the efforts of those disgusting turtles, it was still a place that offered nothing but time-wasting activities and near-useless appliances. But another part of her, well… That part was annoyed for a different reason.

The cashier at the Orange Julius, now a slightly younger, acne-covered fifteen year old boy, glanced back up at her. Recruit glared back at him, forcing his nervous gaze back to the customer he was serving. The Recruit then sighed. “I knew this was a ridiculous idea…” She had wasted enough time here.

“...Um, excuse me?” A familiar voice spoke up. Recruit turned around.

The expression on the girl’s face when from cautiously curious to a full-on grin. “Hey, I thought it was you! It’s Rinko, right?”

“Yes, that is my name,” Yuu said quickly, remembering her cover, “And I remember you as well, April.”

“Heh, cool, cool,” April nodded. Her smile faltered a bit, though at her own not exactly ‘cool’ words than anything Recruit was doing. “So, you plannin’ on getting another smoothie, or-?”

Recruit considered her answer. “I was thinking about it.” She looked at April’s outfit, this time a yellow shirt with a green jacket and black tights. “You’re not working today then?”

“Nope,” April shook her head, “In fact, I’m kiiiinda not going to be working there ever again. I got fired.”

Recruit narrowed her eyes, suddenly looking much more like her warrior-self. “On what grounds? From my experience, you performed your serving duties perfectly! What reason could your superiors have to terminate you?!”

Not at all bothered by the other girl’s tone, April just sighed. “Ask my brothers. On my last shift, they came in after hours and uh, things got a bit crazy.” That may have sounded like she was throwing her brothers under the bus, but she didn’t really know how to explain an instance where her brothers (who just so happened to be four mutant turtles) tried to chase a giant, smoothie loving mutant-silverfish out of the shop for her and ended up accidentally smashing everything in the process in a ‘normal’ way. And she miiiight have done a bit of smashing of her own when she decided it was a good idea to grab a chair from the small employee sitting area, hoping to hit the creature, only to break the chair itself.

“It’s fine, not the first time it’s happened, and it’s not like I wanted to stay there for a long time anyway.” Still, finding a new job was sure to be a pain, one that she wasn’t in the mood to endure at the moment. “So, I’m just here browsing and walking around, killing some time cause I was bored.”

“Ah. It’s for the best, then, I suppose.” Recruit looked down at April’s outfit again. “Green suits you more than orange does, if that also helps.”

April grinned, chuckling. “Thanks, I appreciate that.” Yuu didn’t smile back at her, but her gaze did soften a bit. It would seem April’s laugh was just as nice as her smile. “...Hey, so,” April began again, her own expression now a mix of hopeful and cautious, “If you’re not here for anything specific, would you wanna maybe hang out? Together? I-I mean, you don’t have to if you wanna just hang out by yourself - totally nothing wrong with hanging out by yourself! I was just, you know, offering. And uh, yeah…” She cringed again. Ugh. Why was it that she could talk to mutants no problem but was a total disaster when it came to talking to other humans? It didn’t exactly help thay Rinko was so cool looking, and nothing at all like the other kids at her school (especially given that she actually remembered April’s name…).

Recruit stared back at her. She hadn’t threatened her, yet April seemed almost nervous around her. But, not in a distrusting or suspecting way, like she knew ‘Rinko’ wasn’t who she seemed. No, instead it was a type of nervousness that, in a way… Yuu could also understand. After all, there was a reason why joining a clan of ancient monks who only judged based on merit and skill was so appealing to her. “I… believe I would enjoy hanging out with you,” she said slowly, tightening her fists but forcing herself to keep eye contact, “So, I accept your invitation. But only for a couple hours.” Couldn’t let herself get _too_ involved after all.

Still, that was enough for April. “Great!” she grinned, “That’s, that’s great! Yeah, we can find something to do for a couple hours. Um… Have you been to the arcade on the third floor yet? They’ve added a few more games.”

“I have not,” Recruit answered. So, that’s where they went.

The silence between them was still a bit awkward as they walked, but not yet suffocating. April kept up with Recruit’s strong pace well, and only further impressed her once she demonstrated her skills on one of the virtual fighting games.

The ice had officially been broken sometime between Recruit recalling the very happy memory of how she defeated a student in her ‘class’ three years older than her when he refused to stop insulting her and April sharing the story about how she got in a fight with some girls from her rival middle school softball team and won despite being completely outnumbered, proud to reveal that she had some moves of her own. By the time they got to the wack-a-mole machines, competing to see who could get the higher score, they were getting along like old friends.

Recruit didn’t try to hold back her boasts or her victorious laughter whenever she won again, something April found both entertaining and, admittedly, a bit adorable. Whenever April snarked or offered a clever comment to someone staring at them, her nerves no longer tying a small part of her down, Recruit couldn’t help but admire her fierce spirit along with her words.

Two hours turned to three, then four with a quick stop at a frozen custard place on their way out. By the time they exchanged numbers and went their separate ways, the bright lights of the city were coming on as the sun slowly set. Still, even with a whole day gone without a single moment of actual training, Recruit couldn’t help but feel satisfied.

She would always be a warrior. She would always be a member of the Foot Clan. This was her destiny, and this was what she wanted for her life, there was no denying this.

“But…” Recruit said to herself, staring down at April’s contact information down at her phone, memorizing it all with ease, “Perhaps there is room for… other things. For now.” She wouldn’t let herself get distracted, she would continue to work hard. But forming an alliance with this girl - this girl with strong grins and a warrior’s spirit of her own and bright laughter that could bring a smile to Yuu’s own face, her friendly nature and her strength just as evident as her beauty-

She stopped, blushing at her own ridiculous thoughts. “...Forming an alliance with her would, would be only a positive.” If April’s stories were true, she could certainly hold her own in a battle. Perhaps she could even be convinced to join the Foot. But until that opportunity came up, Recruit decided with a small smile that just hanging out with her on the occasional day off would be enough in the meantime - and she was certainly looking forward to it.

With newfound energy filling her, the Recruit darted into the growing shadows, disappearing without a trace...

Across town, deep in the sewers, April was having similar thoughts as she laid face down in one of her brother’s bed, excited yet completely flustered.

“I’ve finished my scans aaaaaand yep, she’s got it bad,” Donnie commented, causing April to groan into her pillow. Raph just patted her back, and glared at Leo when he started snickering again.

“What?” Leon said, smiling sheepishly, “I’m not trying to be mean, I just think it’s cute! It’s not every day someone in this family gets to go on a, what’d you call it, April? A ‘sort of date’ and gets a huge cruuuuuu-” His teasing was cut off by an action figure to the face, courtesy of April grabbing it off his nightstand.

“Girl, you have GOT to get pictures, next time!” Mikey told her, “I wanna see her! How cool did you say she was, again? Like, ‘most popular girl in school’ cool or ‘rebel biker chick’ cool?”

“ _Definitely_ rebel biker chick,” April answered, lifting her head a little so her voice wasn’t as muffled. She knew that even when she first saw her in pastel pink. “Trust me, this girl was just as tough as she was cool. But…”

Mikey smirked, remembering the other little detail his sis had given them. “Uh huhhhhh… And remind me, just how cute and pretty was this girl?” April just groaned again.

Donnie shook his head. “Fellas, I think we’ve officially reached ‘useless lesbian’ status.” April kicked at him, but he and the rest of her brothers could only laugh.

Okay, so maybe she was a little head-over-heels but, hey, she was April O’Neil, and she deserved to have a fun afternoon out with a cool, tough, gorgeous girl, right? Maybe Rinko was a bit strange when it came to some of her quirks, but it wasn’t as if she was rude or even THAT weird. April just had a good feeling about her, and if their next ‘sort of date’ was as fun as this one had been, then she definitely couldn’t wait for it. ...If she could work up the nerve to ask for one, that is. Honestly, she just hoped that she’d be able to initiate a text conversation without chickening out.

Still, she had a good feeling about this… And maybe if she was lucky enough, they’d get close enough and open enough for April to feel safe introducing her to her family outside of just her father and aunt. But in the meantime, April was just going to try and enjoy whatever time she got to spend with her.

She thought of Rinko’s rare smile, and closed her eyes with a blissful sigh. Just getting to see that again - to smile and laugh along with her - was enough motivation for her to at least try.

“Oh yeah,” she heard Leo say, his voice full of amused affection, “She’s definitely got it bad.” The other turtles nodded, and silently wished her the best of luck, both with winning this girl’s affection and with avoiding crazy mutants or weird flame-heads while on their dates.

**THE END**


End file.
